Page 109 of Brutal Ice

“Or you don’t have to explain a single thing.”

His head wrenched toward her.

“I trust you,” she told him simply. The total truth.

“Why?” Ragged.

Oh, that was simple, too. Her lips parted to reply.

“No, dammit, I’m getting you out of here. If you say something sweet and sexy, I’ll go crazy and try to fuck you right here.” He sucked in a breath. “I’ve been trying to be good the last few days. You were grieving. You needed care. You still need it.”

“I need you.”

A jerky nod. “You’re gonna get me.”

Finally.

He shoved open the door. Sure enough, plenty of reporters were waiting. The theater had extra guards on hand, but some of the other dancers didn’t seem to mind the reporters. In fact, plenty of people were talking eagerly with the press.

Royal guided her past Dante, and she heard her former co-star tell a redhead with a microphone, “Yes, yes, I was there when the light came toppling down on the stage.” He shuddered. “Horrifying. But not nearly as horrifying as learning that Simone was killed by Micah. We trusted him.” A sigh. “You just can’t ever know someone, can you?”

Violet’s steps hurried forward.

But the reporters had noticed her. And Royal.

“Royal!” A shout from a man on the right.

“Boudreaux!” From a woman in dark blue.

“Is it true that you were questioned in conjunction with the murder of Will—” The question was cut off, mostly because so many other voices were suddenly blasting over the reporter’s voice.

“Violet, Violet!” The woman who’d been interviewing Dante dashed toward her. “Were you aware that your hero was suspected of murder?”

She could see the limo. Kai was already out of the vehicle. Glaring at the crowd. She’d talked to Kai more in the last few days. He’d moved to Savannah from Hawaii a few years before, gotten a job with Beau and become tight with both Beau and Royal. He was quiet, unless he was ragging on his two best friends, and the man had been a steady—and intimidating—guard since the world had come crashing down on Violet.

“Violet!” Another reporter had his phone up and on her. The phone partially blocked his face as he filmed. “Is it true that you and Micah had a sexual relationship?”

That question had come often in the past few days. She’d denied it, over and over again.

Now, she just pushed forward.

“Royal!” A man stepped into her path. Gray suit. Sunglasses that threw Violet’s reflection back at her. “Royal, I need to talk with you about your family!”

She heard Royal’s rumbling growl behind her.

This man wasn’t filming. No microphone. No phone clutched tightly in his hand. Instead, he was just standing there.

“Get out of the way,” Royal snapped at him.

“Your family wants to see you.”

Her heart lurched in her chest even as she staggered to a stop. His family? The family that had abandoned Royal all those years ago? She glanced back. “Royal?”

Fury marked every line and plane of his face. “I’m not dealing with bullshit. Get out of the way or I move you,” he told the man.

Her head whipped back around.

The stranger stepped to the side. Probably a wise choice.

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